SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The contrast in emotions
could not have been more evident.

As Syracuse head coach John Desko spoke at a press conference
following his team's 11-10 loss to Villanova on Sunday, three of
his players sat to his left staring straight ahead, blank
expressions on their faces.

When the Orange finished, Villanova entered the room riding a
high that will last all the way back to Philadelphia. The Wildcats
knocked off Syracuse on its home turf. It did so with a gritty
performance that put its mental toughness to the test and the
Wildcats passed with flying colors.

"To beat a team like Syracuse at the Carrier Dome is about a big
a win as we've ever had in our program," Villanova head coach Mike
Corrado said. "Considering the way we lost our last two games, to
come up here and do what we did, we're extremely proud of our guys.
We just never gave up today."

The No. 14 Wildcats (5-3, 1-0 Big East) held the No. 9 Orange
(4-3, 2-1) to just three second-half goals while it went on a
scoring barrage in the third quarter with four scores of their own
en route to the one-goal victory in front of 3,811 fans inside the
Carrier Dome. Villanova handed Syracuse its first ever conference
loss since the Big East formed a league in 2010, and did so in a
way that created even more questions about where the Orange stands
at the midway point of its season.

Jack Rice, Will Casertano and Kevin O'Neil each had two goals
for the Wildcats, with Casertano scoring two of Villanova's final
three goals, including the final one that put them up 11-9 with
10:11 left in the fourth quarter. Kevin Cunningham added three
assists.

Villanova goaltender Dan Gutierrez (12 saves) was an absolute
force between the pipes, getting better as the game progressed. The
Wildcats had lost their last two games to Princeton and Maryland by
a combined 12 goals, and Gutierrez said Villanova was focused on
ending the skid.

"It happens as a goalie. When you let in one, you just have to
have a short memory about it," Gutierrez said. "We've really just
focused on focusing throughout the whole game. Keeping focused kind
of helped me get back my confidence and stick with it."

After Syracuse's Luke Cometti scored unassisted with 5:05 left
to make it a one-goal game, Gutierrez made two huge saves in the
final minute of play as the Orange was gunning for a transition
goal that would have tied the game at 11. But Syracuse failed to do
what Desko has been pleading with his scorers to do all season,
change the level of their shots. Time and again, they shot high
into the cage, right at Gutierrez' eye level where he could make a
quality save.

First, it was Orange midfielder JoJo Marasco, who sprinted
through the offensive zone in transition, but shot high right into
Gutierrez' stick. A few seconds later, Syracuse freshman defender
Brandon Mullins broke free up top for a rare attempt at a
score.

Like Marasco, he shot high, perfect for Gutierrez and he made
the save with 27 seconds left. Then, in the final seconds,
Orange goalie Dominic Lamolinara made a save and launched a pass
the length of the field to redshirt senior Tim Desko, but Desko
could not get a shot off.

John Desko said after the game he never wants to take credit
away from the goaltender, but the frustration over his players
refusing to change the plane of their shots to keep Gutierrez
guessing was clear.

"Although we talked about changing the plane on our shots, I
found it pretty amazing that we kept shooting high and not changing
the plane on him," Desko said. "We work on that, we talk about it,
we show it on film, and we still do it anyway, so I don't
understand it."

The Orange took a 7-5 lead into halftime, and appeared to hold
all the momentum. But then the Wildcats reeled off three straight
goals. Syracuse responded with two straight, but Villanova answered
back with three in a row.

The entire contest was a stark contrast to last season's game
between these two teams, which was a sloppy, turnover-filled
defensive battle that saw the Orange score with six seconds left in
regulation for a 5-4 win.

This year, both teams played fast up and down the field. There
was no stalling, and it was clear offense was going to decide the
result, not defense.

"Last year, it was a defensive battle," Rice said. "There just
wasn't much offense, it was a low-scoring game. I think today, the
fans enjoyed watching the game a little more. There was a lot of
scoring compared to last year."

Lamolinara made 11 saves in the game, but the 11 he let in the
cage were too much for the Orange to overcome. Tom Palasek led the
Orange offensively with two goals and two assists.

Villanova came up to Syracuse and did what it's been looking to
do for a while. It beat the Orange and earned a program-defining
win in a season that might have it knocking on the door for a Big
East championship.

"Last year, it was a heartbreaker that we lost with the couple
seconds left," Rice said. "The year before, it wasn't that close.
So to come up here and beat the on their own field is huge for our
program and something we can build on if we continue to play
well."